Salazar, a coal miner, is a leader of the struggle here to establish representation by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) at the mine operated by C.W. Mining.

He and other miners said they received word of a back pay order from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), through a November 2 letter the board sent to the UMWA. The letter outlines a proposed settlement for back pay by the company to 47 miners, amounting to a total of more than $400,000.

“Now we have to make sure 100 percent of all the miners receive a justified amount of back pay,” Salazar said.

C.W. Mining fired 75 miners at Co-Op Sept. 22, 2003, after the bosses got wind of the workers’ union-organizing efforts. The miners turned the lockout into a strike, set up picket lines, and won widespread labor solidarity across the United States and beyond.

As the strike entered its 10th month in June, the NLRB ruled that the miners had been fired illegally, acting on a complaint filed by the UMWA on the miners’ behalf. The board ordered the company to give the workers their jobs back and included a provision for back pay for lost wages and benefits during the strike. Strikers who accepted the company’s unconditional offer to return were back on the job in July.

The labor board also ruled that a union election must be held in the mine because a large majority of the miners had signed a petition asking for representation by the UMWA. Months later, however, the NLRB has yet to set the date for a union election.

“We must put more pressure on the labor board,” said Jesús Leyva, a Co-Op miner. He reported that the miners are organizing a delegation to Denver, Colorado, December 3 to protest outside the NLRB’s regional office there, pressing the board to set a date for a union vote. They will also present the UMWA’s demand that no members of the Kingston family, the owners of C.W. Mining, or supervisory personnel be allowed to vote.

“This trip to Denver is something we’ve got to do,” said Leyva. “The company is already on the defensive and now we have to push the right buttons to get what we want.”

The NLRB held a hearing in Price, Utah, in July to determine who will be eligible to vote.

In an attempt to stack the elections against the UMWA, the company submitted a list of about 100 people, mostly Kingston family members and relatives, including office and managerial personnel, who are on the company’s payroll as part-time or seasonal help. Some also work full time alongside approximately four dozen miners who are mostly immigrants from Mexico.

Those on the company’s list include members of the International Association of United Workers Union (IAUWU), which miners say is a company union that has never represented them.

The attorney for the UMWA and its supporters at the Co-Op mine argued at the hearing that the relatives of the Kingston family employed in the mine derive benefits not available to other miners, and their direct connection to the owners represents a conflict of interest. For this reason, the UMWA and its supporters have argued that these individuals should not be allowed to take part in a representation election.

The miners are organizing to get the word out on the December 3 protest in Denver throughout Emery and Carbon counties in Utah—the heart of the state’s coal production.

The Co-Op miners said they are planning a meeting at the UMWA hall in Price with retired miners and others who want to help organize support for this action. The meeting will take place on Saturday, November 20. Another meeting is planned for the next day for Co-Op miners who support the UMWA to discuss how to fight to ensure that the bosses pay what is due every miner in back wages.

The Co-Op miners said they are asking that letters be sent to the NLRB demanding the board set a date for the election and backing the UMWA’s demand on who should be eligible to take part in the vote. Such letters should be sent to NLRB Region 27, attention B. Allan Benson, director, 600 17th Street, 7th Floor—North Tower, Denver, CO 80202-5433. Tel: (303) 844-3551; Fax: (303) 844-6249.

Copies of the letters and other messages of solidarity and financial donations for the organizing struggle can be sent to the Co-Op Miners at: UMWA District 22, 525 East, 100 South, Price, UT 84501. Tel: (435) 637-2037; Fax: (435) 637-9456.  
 
 
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